Beauty & The Beast (Book 1)

50. True feelings

Tess moved from one side of the party to the other, watching and talking to some of the guests, both working and flirting a little.
She spot Pam by the bar and goes over, seeing her looking at Noah.

"Look I'm sure this is inappropriate for me to say but your boss is H O T," Tess gushes with a smile. It was true.

"And as hot as he is, he's as kind and as generous," Pam looks him up and down, sipping her champagne.

Tess eyes her sideways. Hmmm...
"Sounds like someone has a crush?"

"Not anymore, " Pam shrugs it off.

"He's so smooth. Looks like he's wrapping up a big deal."

Pam nods. "Those suits he's talking to are with the SCC. They're discussing the initial public offering."

"Shouldn't you be a part of that coversation?" Tess wonders, tilting her head. "You're the Chief Financial Officer."

"Noah likes to take his high level meetings alone," Pam purses her lips, rollinfmg her eyes.

"The day before Lisa Hawkes's death, Noah was in an all day meeting with the SCC...?"

"All day. All night."

Tess turns to Pam. "Where were you?"

Pam hesitates. "I...I was back at the office, waiting for his instructions."

Tess crosses her arms and smirks, lifting a brow. That's unlikely...
"The dutiful work wife right?"
Pam just looks at Tess and Tess decides it was time to go. Cat never came back. She was in a lot of trouble, but at least she had a big break in this case. Her case.

*********

Cat shot off all six rounds in her gun angrily. Glaring at the target. Her second one already. She holds the underside of her arm because the force of the gun's kickback was harsh.
She presses the button on the side and the target starts rolling closer to the protective glass.
Cat groans. She's missed. Everything was hit but the picture of the 'perp'.
She is irritable, and grabs the earmuffs, ripping them off her head, her lips quivering at her pending tears.

"You didn't show up for your session this morning."

Cat glances back at Doctor David before she starts to gather her gun. "No unauthorized personnel allowed at the firing range."

"Well, since you're stretching that guideline a bit, why can't I?" He grins at her, hands on his hips as he looks around the the room.

Cat walks away from the glass. "I'm sorry about the other day," she sighs, looking at him briefly. "I'm not usually so..." She trails off.

"Do I get to run with that one?" Doctor David asks, looking at the side of her face, pushing his hands into his pantpockets.

"I'm...I'm not easy," she scoffs. "You can ask any of my ex boyfriends." She thins her lips and stares at the wall. "My partner. My sister. My dad. My..." She stops again.

"Oh, no, I'll let you take that one. Your - ?" he waves his hand in a 'go on' motion.

She sighs and turns, going back to the counter restlessly. He scratches his beard, looking at her. She was clearly in some kind of turmoil. It was his job to find out what it was and help work on it.

"Let's talk about why you're nosing around a case you're not approved to investigate."

Cat galres at the window. "A lot of eyes at the precinct," she huffs, walking back again to where he was standing next to the gun shelf.

"So you take comfort in your work. You're good at it. You have a strong purpose. You're in control."

"Yeah, you caught me," she gives him a stiff false grin. "Seriously who...who doesn't do that?" she exclaims. "What's so wrong if I am committed to a job that I care about?"